Happy New Year!
Chamber Board Approves Nine New Members
Tomorrow Ends the Nomination Period for Chamber Awards
Chamber Members Invited to YEA! CEO Roundtable Event
Three Appointed to Chamber Board for 2018
County Commissioners to Answer Questions at January “Breakfast Club”
Traveling in 2018? Consider the Chamber’s Greece, Ireland Trips
Safety Committee Looking to Expand its Reach
Sponsorships Still Available for Annual Meeting
Have You Posted Positions on the Chamber Job Board Yet? It’s Free!
“Buy Here Bucks” a Win-Win for Buyers, Sellers
Congratulations . . .
Happy New Year!
We wish all our members a safe and prosperous New Year. The Chamber appreciates the tremendous support that we receive from the business community and we look forward to a great 2018! The Chamber Office will be closed on January 1st but will be open at 8:30 a.m. on January 2nd. For information on the Chamber or to register for programs or events, visit the Chamber Website.
Chamber Board Approves Nine New Members
The Blair County Chamber’s Board of Directors approved the following members at its board meeting on December 21st: Academy Performance & Exercise of Altoona, Barnes Plaza of Claysburg, Catered Affairs of Altoona, Fiore Brothers Management of Altoona, MedStaffers of Carlisle, Mountain City Services of Altoona, Roofworks USA of Duncansville, T-Mobile of Altoona and Wireless Zone of Tyrone.
Tomorrow Ends the Nomination Period for Chamber Awards
If you plan to nominate individuals for the awards that will be presented at the Blair County Chamber’s Annual Meeting & Award Presentation, to be held on January 26th, you have one more day to do it. The nomination deadline is tomorrow – January 2nd. Nominations are being accepted for the following Chamber awards: Athena Award, George Award, Donna D. Gority Servant Leadership Award, Small Business Person of the Year Award, the Joseph P. Rosenhamer Chamber Spirit Award and Young Professional of the Year Award. Click here for a description and nomination form for each award.
Chamber Members Invited to YEA! CEO Roundtable Event
One of the major highlights of the 25-week Young Entrepreneurs Academy (YEA!) program is the CEO Roundtable event that will be held this Thursday, January 4th, from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. at the Penn State Altoona Devorris Downtown Center. The CEO panel consists of Steve Foreman of M&T Bank, Cathy Griffith of Griffith Family Foundation, Scott Lawhead of The Hite Company, Devin Mullen of Your Jewelry Box and April Ressler of Teeter Group. The program will feature questions from YEA! class members. The public is invited to attend the event and there is no cost to do so. Pre-registration is not necessary. For more information on the Young Entrepreneurs Academy, contact Joe Hurd at (814) 943-8151 or email him at jhurd@blairchamber.com.
Three Appointed to Chamber Board for 2018
The final three positions on the Blair County Chamber’s Board of Directors for 2018 have been filled and will serve one-year terms. Those new board members are: Becky Crilly of Reliance Bank, Leonard Fiore, III of Fiore Brothers Management, and Dr. Randy Frye of Saint Francis University. The Chamber Board consists of twenty-one members.
County Commissioners to Answer Questions at January “Breakfast Club”
The tradition of having the Blair County Commissioners speak at the first Chamber “Breakfast Club of the new year will continue in 2018. The Commissioners have agreed to participate in the event, which will be held on January 11th at 7:45 a.m. at The Casino at Lakemont Park. The format for the Breakfast Club presentation will be Q&A with questions being asked by Cory Gehret of Stiffler McGraw, chair of the Chamber’s Public Policy Committee. The committee, with input from the Chamber membership, formulates the questions. The cost to attend Breakfast Club is $20 for Chamber Members and $30 for non-members. To register, call the Chamber at (814) 943-8151 or register online. Corporate sponsor of the January Breakfast Club is Appalachia Intermediate Unit 8.
Traveling in 2018? Consider the Chamber’s Greece, Ireland Trips
The Blair County Chamber is offering trips to both Greece and Ireland during 2018. The first trip, “Greece and the Sunny Mediterranean,” departs on July 11th and returns on July 20th. It features a 4-night Greek Isle cruise and four night, first class hotel in Athens. The Mediterranean ports visited are Mykonos, Santorini, Ephesus, Rhodes, Crete and Patmos. The Athens portion of the trip includes tours of the Parthenon & Acropolis, the Olympic Stadium, the Royal Palace and a full-day tour of Mycenae. The Greece Trip, offered through Chamber Discoveries, is $3,699/per person including round trip airfare, hotels and seventeen meals. The second trip – “Celtic Adventure” - departs on October 4th and returns on October 13th. It features Belfast, Galway, Killarney and Dublin with many attractions including Titanic Museum, Giant’s Causeway (with Shuttle Bus), Guinness Storehouse, Trinity College, Cliffs of Moher, Connemara Marble and Galway Crystal. There are city tours of both Belfast and Dublin. The Ireland Trip, offered through Classic Travel, is $2,939/per person including airfare, hotels, full Irish breakfast daily and five hotel dinners. For information on either trip, contact the Chamber at (814) 943-8151.
Safety Committee Looking to Expand its Reach
If you are a safety or human resources professional at a local business, the Blair County Chamber’s Safety Committee would like to get you information on a regular basis about upcoming educational programming. To be placed on a contact list, please call Stacy Hoover at (814) 943-8151 or simply email her your contact information at shoover@blairchamber.com.
Sponsorships Still Available for Annual Meeting
The Blair County Chamber’s Annual Meeting & Awards Presentation will be held on January 26th at The Casino at Lakemont Park. Sponsorships at several levels are now available for that event by calling Jessie Covert at (814) 943-8151 or emailing her at jcovert@blairchamber.com.
Have You Posted Positions on the Chamber Job Board Yet? It’s Free!
The Blair County Chamber Website at www.blairchamber.com features a Job Board where member businesses can place up to three positions at no cost. The Job Board concept came about as the result of a meeting held at the Chamber in which local retailers and employment agencies discussed the trials and tribulations of finding interested and qualified employees. The decision to limit businesses to posting only three positions at one time was a recommendation by the Chamber’s Board of Directors who was concerned that larger businesses with multiple openings would make the task of overseeing the Job Board rather labor intensive. Tori Liebal, the Chamber’s Vice-President of Website Development and Social Media, is the staff member assigned to maintain the Job Board. Jobs will remain on the Board for one month unless the employer asks that they be removed or extended. At the present time, Job Board postings are limited to Chamber Members only. (For more information on the Job Board, contact Tori Liebal at 814-943-8151 or email her at tliebal@blairchamber.com.)
“Buy Here Bucks” a Win-Win for Buyers, Sellers
The Blair County Chamber’s new gift certificate program, known as “Buy Here Bucks,” is a way for local businesses to gain new customers and an even better way for people to give gift certificates with more than just a few places to redeem them. The larger the list of participating businesses, the greater the value of the certificates. For a business to register to be on that list (it costs Chamber Members nothing), contact Tori Liebal at (814) 943-8151 or email her at tliebal@blairchamber.com. To purchase Buy Here Bucks, visit the Chamber Website at www.blairchamber.com. You can also get them at the Chamber Office, located in the Devorris Center for Business Development.
Congratulations . . .
. . . to Blair County Head Start, a program of Child Advocates of Blair County, which has had its twelve program sites designated as “Star 4” by the Pennsylvania Office of Child Development and Early Learning. Star 4 is the highest level achievable in Keystone Stars, Pennsylvania’s Quality Rating & Improvement System.
. . . to Stacy Schenk, Director of Financial Aid at Mount Aloysius College, who was recently honored by the Pennsylvania Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators with their Presidential Award. Schenk received the recognition for her commitment, energy and work for students at Mount Aloysius.
Power Card Offers: They’re Changing Every Day
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January 1, 2018
Upcoming Events
Breakfast Club
Thursday, January 11
7:45 - 9:00 a.m.
The Casino at Lakemont Park
Register Here
Safety Program
Wednesday, January 24
7:30 - 9:30 a.m.
Hoss's - Duncansville
Register Here
Business After Hours
Thursday, January 25
5:00 - 7:00 p.m.
Ingelnook at Presbyterian Village
Register Here
Annual Meeting
Friday, January 26
7:30 -9:30 a.m.
The Casino at Lakemont Park
Register Here
Upcoming Committee Meetings Week of 1/1/18
Business Hall of FameCommittee
Wednesday, January 3, 8:00 a.m.
The Chamber
LBC Adult Committee
Wednesday, January 3, 3:00 p.m.
Devorris Center
Public Policy Committee
Thursday, January 4, 8:00 a.m.
Devorris Center
BASICS Subcommittee Early Childhood Ed.
Thursday, January 4, 10:00 a.m
Devorris Center
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Click here for a list of benefits.
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